Organized Shopping Blog: A9 Introduces the Visual Yellow Pages

A9's "block view" is trying to change the way we interact with the Yellow Pages.

A decade ago, who would have thought we would be able to have so much interaction with the yellow pages? Will usage of the paper yellow pages become one of the markers of old age, like ten-cent movies and walking uphill in the snow -- both ways -- were for our grandparents?

I'm already liking several of the features. Each listing comes with a large default photo, and several smaller photos taken at different angles. You do not even need to click the thumbnails to enlarge them, the change is made in real-time simply by hovering your mouse over them. Also, there is a check box under each thumbnail that allows visitors to vote on the best image of the business.

Also, if you know me, you know I kinda have a thing for structured information. So does Amazon.com, as we can see by clicking on a "Update Business Info" link, which leads to a form that includes the following structured fields:

Products and Services

Services: [ ] Delivery [ ] After Hours [ ] Pick Up [ ] Repair

Hours of Operations: (drop-down boxes for all types of hours)

Languages Spoken: English Arabic, Bengali, Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese (Mandarin), Esperanto, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese, Other _____

Payment and Offers

Terms of Payment: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover Diners Club, JCB, Personal Checks, Travelers Checks, Cash, Insurance, Purchase Orders, Government Contracts, Cash On Deliver, Foreign Currency, Money Orders, Financing Available

Free Estimate/Assement: Yes, No, N/A

Senior Discount: Yes, No, N/A

Wholesale, Business-to-Business: Yes, No

Retail, Business-to-Consumer: Yes, No

The form also includes numerous unstructured fields, such as Slogan or Tagline, Key Services and Product Offering, Brands Sold or Represented, Associations & Affiliations, Licenses & Certifications, Special Offers, Guarantees, yada yada yada.

How does this compare to the other Internet Yellow Pages (IYPs)? This could be cause for an Internet Yellow Pages Shootout.

Amazon.com has a cute yellow tab for the Yellow Pages with the little "walking fingers" image.

How prominant will this tab be when the service comes out of beta?

Further reading & discussion at Threadwatch.

via Search Engine Watch

A9 Introduces the Visual Yellow Pages